


A Creaking is Heard

by MoldySin (AnnieAnnProps)



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Slow Burn, prompt, space lesbians, trying to keep this series shorter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-14
Updated: 2018-08-14
Packaged: 2019-06-27 10:11:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15683307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnnieAnnProps/pseuds/MoldySin
Summary: Writing promptYou sail the great and spacious void between galaxies, a pirate of the stars with your solar sail and patchwork crew. You've been having the best life that a space pirate can have, but recently you've noticed that your targets are more worried about fleeing, than arguing for their possessions. Finally, sick of not knowing, you ask a captain whose ship you've currently taken, and they tell you about the great big creaking coming from the maw of the universe itself.The story follows Aleksandra Zaryanova.





	A Creaking is Heard

**Author's Note:**

> I tried, i really did, to get back into writing At the Seams. i reread the whole thing and then thought to myself, wow, i hope this gets finished before realizing it was my fic. I mean, it's pretty rough around the edges, this one might be to, so it's might be more of a writing exercise than anything else. It's not romance centeric buts will get a sorta of romance at some point.

The stars stretch out like an endless blanket, each of their dancing lights seeming close enough to comb her fingers through. Aleks remembers once upon a time looking up into the sky, past the hellfire raining down, and wishing she could see the beauty of a world without war. Days when she was young, brash, and wishing to bring glory and peace to her planet.  

But now, she’s flown to a new star, gotten as close as she could to its brilliance and marveled at how mundane it looked up close. She’s seen the worlds that it supports, seen the resilience of the life there before snuffing that same life out. Aleks shifts from one foot to the other while humming an aged tune to herself as she waits for the inevitable chiming of the her ship’s comms being hailed. Out in the darkness of space in front of her is a frigate, the  _ Murdoc _ . Although it is much bigger than her stolen corvette, it remains trapped in their tractor beam with its sides torn to shreds and engines destroyed. Small holes pepper all over her hull that smolder and spark, her passengers only alive by the grace of the force fields holding the air in. 

She didn't believe her eyes at first when the familiar ship popped up on the exact same trade route at the exact same time as when they first found them just a month prior. Aleks figured the Union was smarter than that, not even an extra escort with the poor merchant ship. 

Or perhaps their run in was never reported.

This time, however, the  _ Murdoc _ put up an admirable fight, sending her men to their deaths in tiny fighters that were easily shot down by the light armaments of the Aleks’  _ Cherry Orchard _ . Suddenly, a flash of blue light streams out one of the dark windows and Aleks stills herself. Only a matter of time before-

As if on cue, the comms chime and Aleks let's it ring two times before accepting the video call with a sarcastic smile.

“Leng. I was beginning to think you had taken your own life.” Aleks says addressing the Union Captain with a playful familiarity.

His head is covered by thin, white hairs, wrinkles around his blood shot eyes, and, surprisingly, new medals pinned on his disheveled uniform that were not there the last they they had quarreled. 

“You won't get away with this.” He snaps back with a growl. The bridge behind him is empty save for two pilots madly tapping away. Bodies litter the floor, crew members electrocuted to death by their charred command boards. 

“That is what you told me last time we crossed paths, no? And look where we are.” Aleks says with her eyes glancing to another console showing a blinking light where Lena is in the enemy's ship. “You know that I have no interest in taking your life, Leng.”

“Bastard! Don't think I haven't learned your tricks, your little Tracer is about to find herself in a lot of trouble.” Leng says with a wide sneer, trying to appear confident despite his trembling hands and the cold sweat pouring down his wrinkled brow. “My guards outside the cargo hold are waiting for her. Shoot to kill. I should be hearing a report from them anytime now.”

Aleks lets out a hearty chuckle that only makes Leng’s panicked eyes widen. He shoots a glance to the sealed door behind him and then down to the radio linked to the guards. A minute passes with Aleks patiently waiting and Leng growing more and more anxious.

“Guards, report!” He barks into the radio, hearing it sound off the radios on the dead crew members’ belts, but no reply is heard. He slams his fist down, leaning right up to the camera.

“I’ll kill you, you hear! I’ll make sure that you die a slow and painful death for what you’ve done!” He screams with spit flying at the screen. 

“Leng,” Aleks says with an almost bored face. She glances at the other screen for a moment before raising her chin and slowly saying, “jettison your cargo or trouble finds you.”

Leng stares at her, wide eyes darting all over the video feed trying to glean some sort of hint of what she has planned. Finding none, he bares his teeth in another sneer.

“Rot in hell.”

“Suit yourself.” Aleks shrugs and picks up her pulse cannon that has been sitting at her feet the entire time. She signals to Lena through her comm and turns back to the screen with a smile. “I will be seeing you very soon, Leng.”

* * *

The screen turns black, sending Leng into a mad scramble for the pistol at his side. His hands shake as he draws it out, never having to use it from his seat at the bridge. 

Screams of surprise sound from just outside the doors. Leng punches the button to bring the video feed of the hallway up, catching a brief glimpse of two figures shooting the guards before one of them turns and shoots the camera. 

It starts low at first, a gentle hum building into a rumble that vibrates every surface of the bridge. Objects begin to clatter to the floor, shaken off the countertops. Leng swallows thickly and raises his pistol to the source of the loud hum: the doors. 

“Are the doors sealed?!” He says backing up from the only entrance to the bridge. 

“Yes sir! Reinforcements are en route.” One of the techs replies, their map showing a squad of ships heading towards them. “ETA 15 minutes, sir.”

“Damn good.” Leng says with a breath and wiping the sweat from his face. “It'll take them longer than that to get through both airlocks.”

He grabs the radio off his belt, fumbling with the buttons before bringing it up to his lips. For a moment he's too stunned to speak as he watches a plate sized section of the thick, metal airlock starting to glow red with heat. They're already to the second airlock. Shaking his head, he assures himself that the hole is too small for anyone to pass through. That, and there’s still a ship full of his men who he can throw at them as a distraction.

“All available personnel, the enemy is attempting to breach the bridge, converge with intent to kill. That's an order. Remember, there'll be glory to whoever takes down Zaryanova.” He says with his eyes glued on the security feed, showing a squad of soldiers leaving their barricade in the mess hall and heading his way. “And Zarya, you better get the fuck off my ship and ready your guns.” 

Finally, the metal melts away and a purple beam of a particle cannon punches through but doesn't reach far into the cabin. A moment of dread is followed by gleeful realization that there is no way for them to shoot him through such a small hole. 

“Captain!” Leng whirls around to one of the pilots rushing other with a thick binder of security protocols outstretched, confused as to why they look so scared. The pilot doesn’t make it halfway across the room before they stop dead in their tracks. 

Suddenly, a loud creaking echos through the bridge, sounding off on every radio and speaker. Leng drops his radio in shock, quickly regaining his composure and turning back to the doors. Through the hole comes a small, fistsized disk of glowing blue light embedded in white metal. All three of them stare at it, the object looking nothing like a grenade or-

“Bombs away!” A sing song voice is heard through the punctured door just before a flash of blue light fills the room along with a quiet hum that crawls up arms of last three occupants of the room.

Blinded and panicked, Leng wildly empties the entire pistol clip, filling the room with the sound of ricocheting bullets. A large hand grabs his wrist and twists with the sound of snapping bone ending the gunfire. The pistol clatters to the floor.

“Who-how?!” He yells into the air still trying to blink away the white spots etched into his eyes. Within the blotches he sees boots, guns, and the limp bodies of his dead pilot and co-pilot. 

“You are much smaller in person, Leng.” Aleks says dropping his now broken arm and he curls up to cradle it. She brings a heavy boot to his throat and ever so gently begins to step down. “Now tell me why should not kill you.”

Leng gasps for air, clawing at the weight with his one good hand. He can finally see Aleks and her ragtag band of soldiers standing behind her, most of them doubled over and some retching onto the floor. They all wear what undoubtedly was once Volskaya uniforms, a muted blue with red and grey trim, but the uniforms are now decorated with patches and other trinkets. His visions begins to blur and the boot presses down harder in response to his silence. 

“Nothing, little man?” She bears down with a sadistic grin as he fights for every breath. 

“Rot….in-” Leng manages before Aleks lifts her foot and stomps down with her entire weight. 

A wet snap and all that is heard are the incessant alarms calling from the command boards. With a disgusted scoff, Aleks kicks Leng’s face away from her and crouches, bending down and snatching up his radio.  The creaking continues until Lena picks the transmitter up she tossed into the room and switches it off. 

“Greetings crew of the  _ Murdoc _ . This is Zaryanova showing you bit of mercy. Your ship will be relieved of its cargo and if you stay out of our way, then you will live another day.” Alek says, hearing her voice eerily echoes over all the radios surrounding them. “Perhaps one day you will be smarter than your dead captain here.”

The radio shatters upon impact with the ground and Aleks turns to Panica, one of the few of her squad to remain decently steady on their feet after the blink. With a smile on her face, Panica waves a pass card she found in one of the dead pilots pockets, earning a nod of approval from Aleks. The metal doors part with a hiss and a band of soldiers standing in the hallway greets them. Aleks and her squad instantly ready their weapons, some of them still too dazed to do so.

“Hold, please, we're not here to fight.” The closest one says quickly, all of them raising their hands at the multitude of guns pointed at them. “We’d like to join your crew, Zaryanova.”

The standoff drags on for a tense minute with Aleks stepping forward and studying each of the 12 soldiers. Most of them are young in crisp uniforms indicating new recruits, a few are middle aged only a rank or two higher than the recruits. 

Cannon fodder. 

Once upon a time she would’ve taken pity on them. It is almost like staring at a mirror into the past.

“Kill them.” Alek says with a scoff, lowering her cannon.

“Wait! Please-” He stammers out, trying to chase after Aleks but Lena jams a pistol into his chest.

“Should've laid low, mate.” Says Lena with a smile as she taps the barrel on the underside of the soldier’s chin. “Tell you what, scurry off now and promise I won't shoot you in the back.”

“No promises that I won't.” Pancia says with a chuckle and flicking the safety off her assault rifle. 

The group stare at them, baffled, but the moment Panica shoots the ground next to their feet they leap up and run like roaches in the light. A grunt of annoyance sounds from Aleks throat.

“No prisoners, no recruits, do not trust Union soldiers.” Aleks says in a low growl. They were all there at the betrayal and wounds are still fresh.

Aleks turns Leng’s body over with her foot, bends down and tears off the name tag on his uniform, tossing it in her hand a few times. The weight of the gold plated plaque is familiar, almost nostalgic. Although they contains a quite a bit of gold, Aleks doesn’t collect them for their monetary value. 

“Always a pleasure, Mr. Leng.”

* * *

“Alright folks, we'll be docking in Guroth station for a few days while the ship gets repairs. No killing and no fighting unless you're real good at covering your tracks; talking to you Elvar. Other than that, have some fun before we jump to Horus. Captain's orders.”

Aleks finishes up washing her face, only half listening to pilot Paquette's announcement. She yanks the pleasantly plush towel off its hook and pats the water off. The mirror is a crappy piece of polished metal that she buffs herself every other day, but it's just enough for her to examine herself; blonde roots peeking out from underneath the pink, weary eyes with wrinkles starting to form at the corners and she wonders what she’ll look like older if this is what she look like at the young age of 28. Her fingers trace the deep scar on her forehead. The memories come trickling back and she tosses the towel aside with a grunt. 

“Oxton, my quarters, now.” Aleks says into her comms as she makes her way out of the small bathroom attached to her room.

“And if I'm busy?” Lena's voice sounds over implant, breathless with an edge of sass. A soft moan comes from the background and Aleks realizes what has Lena 'busy’.

“Ugh,” she says pinching the bridge of her nose. “After you're done fucking your girlfriend, then.”

“Yessir!” 

“Remember to wash up before you arrive.” Aleks says quickly, recalling the last time Lena stumbled in with hickeys all along her neck, shirt on backwards, and hands still vaguely slick. The girl had touched so many surfaces in Aleks’ bunk before she actually took notice.

Aleks makes another noise of disgust, shaking the thought out of her head and setting on getting herself geared up.The metal door of her locker swings open with a squeak reminding her to oil the hinge one of these days. It's sparsely filled with a handful of civilian outfits she pinched off of her 'business partners’ here and there when they were actually her size and bulk and it takes a little rummaging before she finds a dusty, fur coat in the back. It’s one of the few things she was able to grab before they fled Kazan. 

The worn leather is soft against her nose as Aleks takes a deep breath, swearing she can still smell the greasy black ice that encases her homeworld: layers and layers of ice mixed with engine oil from the neverending war with the Omnics. Her fingers trace over the worn patch of her original platoon, something she couldn't bear rip off just yet. 'Krasnoyarsk Frontliners’, her dead family. 

The coat is a snug fit over her battle armor, but it allows her to walk among the rabble of a port without sticking out like a sore thumb on this small town planet. She pulls on a thick pair of cargo pants and equally thick snow boots which Aleks is lacing them up when there's a knock on her door. 

“Enter.” 

Lena pokes her head in through the crack of the door, peeking around before stepping in and closing the it behind her. 

“I'll have you know-” Lena says, leaning up against the door but her mouth snaps shut at the glare Aleks hurls at her. She smells of the very distinct, antiseptic soap in the communal washroom, something Aleks is quite thankful about.  

“I do not need to know anymore about your sex life, Oxton.” Aleks says curtly, already having heard too much about it since partnering up with the chatty pilot. “You have winter clothes, yes?”

“Me? Not really, come from a water world and we travel light. Need rain boots and ponchos, we got you 'covered’” Lena says with a snap and two finger guns drawn, not even rousing a chuckle from Aleks. “What? Not even a pip?”

“Useless.” Says Aleks with a roll of her eyes and a tug, finishing up with her shoes. “We land. We go clothes shopping.”

“Why? Em and I were planning to stay in the port, y'know, where they got heating and greasy nosh?” Lena begins to complain only to be shot down by another glare. She puffs her cheeks and crosses her arms, saying, “what you on about, Aleks?”

“I need you and your Dragonfly to accompany us to meeting with potential client.” Aleks says. With a swipe of her hand she checks their trajectory and then pulls up an email. 

“Never need me when you meet with your usual lads, unless we’re talking about something a touch more exciting.” Lena says, quickly hopping over to the screen, her eyes scanning over the text at lightning speed. 

Aleks doesn't bother explaining anything knowing that it's going to go in one ear and out the other of the hyperfocused woman. She sits patiently as Lena finishes up the letter, her face scrunching up in disgust. 

“Ew, ew, ew what's this shite? 'with your aide we can vanquish this eternal threat blah blah’ no one talks like that but in the vids.” Lena says, backing up raising a hand in confusion. “You're taking this rubbish seriously? Right trap it is, but 1 million credits, bloody hell, could buy an entire squadron with that kinda cash.” 

“Of course it is trap, that is why you are coming with me along with Cyberian squad. Did not choose to dock on ice world because I missed home.” Aleks says, swiping the message away for a map of the ice planet Guroth with a red marker on it. “You are slippery like fox. We fly to the point in your Dragonfly and when they try to kill us, we kill them, take their gear, and leave.”

“You're nutters.” Lena says and stares at Aleks for a moment. She finally sighs and realizes that Alek is serious about the entire thing. “Fine, guess I’m in, can't leave you sods stranded on ice. Reckon it'll at least be fun. Still can’t believe a stick in the mud like you let your squad that name themselves 'Cyberian’.” 

Aleks dismisses all the windows and walks over to the door, clad in her armor and overcoat slung over her arm. She turns to Lena with a sly grin and a shrug.

“Actually, the name was my idea.” She says before opening the door and walking down the hall.

Lena stares at the empty space for a moment, struggling to believe that either Aleks actually came up with the ridiculous name or the absurd possibility that she just made a joke. 

“What?! No!” Lena says while scrambling to her feet and rushing out after the woman. “You-”

“I did.” Aleks says, only sparing a glance down at Lena who is still tripping over her own two feet.

“And they agreed?!” 

“I was very persuasive.” 

They turn the corner and take the stairs down to the mess hall. More like Aleks heading to the mess hall for a snack before their mission and a slightly dazed Lena in tow.

“Don't believe it, not one bit.”

“Ask them if you do not believe me.” Aleks says as she rummages through the pantry, finding a bag of dried varren to gnaw on. 

“Right, 'cause they're just as chatty as you are.” Lena says with a huff, knowing that she'll never get the truth out of the odd band of soldiers. 

“Some of them are.” Aleks say back.

They lean up against the counter, falling into a comfortable silence as they absentmindedly watch the telescreen in the empty mess hall. The local port news reports a few stories of missing persons, bear sightings near the stations, and a weather report of -32c with wind chills. 

“So if you're so sure that it's a trap, why we even going?” Lena finally asked, her attention waning away from the droning news reporter. 

“Curious.” Aleks murmurs around the tough, wad of meat in her mouth. It is the truth, the message wasn't a usual posting an a board, it was directly delivered to her by one of her contacts message and had been so encrypted it took Murk a full week working on it day and night before he could crack it.

Worth a peek in her book.

“We will be landing shortly, get your ship ready so we can leave once we make sure you do not become pilot-cicle.” Aleks say as she checks their ETA and empties the last of the morsels hiding at the bottom of the bag into her mouth. 

Aleks tosses the bag into the recycler and walks off without another word, leaving Lena slack jawed once more. 

* * *

The moment they dock, Lena badgers Aleks to let her pop into the cantina for a bite to eat. An argument and a round of severe pouting later, they compromise with a sandwich to go and a beeline to the clothing merchant. It only takes a glance at the omnic’s selection for Lena to begrudgingly accept that they have to go to the 'young adults’ section to find something her size. Lena has to pull Aleks away from arguing with the merchant that they should carry a better variety of sizes.

“Who let omnic run clothing store. Omnics do not need clothes.” Aleks spits out, tearing her arm out of Lena's grip. 

“Aleks,” Lena says, for once policing her tongue and she tries to find a way to put it nicely. “Don't be a twat. Try to keep an open mind, yeah.”

Aleks dismisses her with a wave of her hand, shooting the shopkeeper on last dirty look before rifling the the rack of coats. Finally, they make it back to the ship with a pastel orange coat and matching pants, much to Emily's disgust when she sees the outfit. It may be ugly and slightly oversized, but they're enough to keep Lena from the cold.

It's a challenge cramming seven heavily armed and armored soldiers into a fighter designed to fit four. They have to empty out the small cargo hold and stuff two of them in there with emergency oxygen masks and all their coats. Another check over and they're off into the massive blizzard that's bound to its eternal pilgrimage around the planet with only a radar guiding them through the whiteout. 

“The point’s still in this bloody storm, gonna have to keep the engine running to keep the fuel lines from freezing over.” Lena says with a glance to Aleks who is sitting in the co-pilot seat beside her as she keeps a careful eye on the gauges. “Even with that, you only got about an hour for your little meet and greet before I burn through too much fuel to make the trip back.”

“Your ship survives space but cannot hold against a little snow?” Aleks says.

“Space don't jam it's way into every blasted crack it can find at 50km an hour, love. Usually, all spacefaring ship's are required to have solar panels enough to at least power life support and to keep lines nice and toasty. But no sun means no juice.” Says Lena before giving a yelp of surprise. 

A gust of wind rocks the small ship, the squad groaning and gripping hard onto any surface they can use to steady themselves. Metal clangs against metal, the turbulence rumbling through their bones and into their teeth. Once the howling dies down, they all turn to the cockpit where an alarm begins to blare. 

“Oxton-” Aleks says through clenched teeth. She tries to get to her feet but the tossing hurls her back into her seat.

“We got company!” Lena shouts.The rader shows three blips following close behind them along with two smaller orange dots rapidly closing in on them. “Hold on mates, we're going on a ride!”

The ship banks left with the force of a bullet, sending three of them slamming into the opposite wall. Aleks watches as Sasha catches Panica with a bear hug, her back slam again the frigid window. They look upwards through to the portside window where a glowing missile streams past them only centimeters from the glass.

“This is Dragonfly 163 Tracer, cease hostilities. Repeat, cease all hostilities!” Lena screams into the ship's open comms, hoping it is all just a misunderstanding. The only reply is an ominous, crystal clear creaking like an aged rocking chair. Her brows knit together in confusion; Lena’s and Aleks’ mouth going dry, both of them instantly recognizing the noise. “What the bloody hell?”

“Didn’t we hear that when the  _ Murdoc _ was jamming our radios.” Sasha says, glancing at the command board; having done a stint as a co-pilot and hated every second of it.

“No, I know what jamming sounds like, crunchy static that burrows into your ears. This, this aint jamming, its-”

The ship jerks to the right, tossing all it's passengers like a salad. Another missile narrowly flies past them.

“Oxton, focus, obviously they want us dead.” Aleks shouts over the alarms and using her arms and the windshields metal frame, half walking, half pulling herself to the back of the ship. “Blink me into one of them.”

“You're nutters! At this speed-” Lena says back, taking her eyes off the sky for one moment. She groans at the strain it takes to force the controls towards her and sending them up to dodge another pair of missiles. 

“That is an order!” Aleks says struggling to remain standing on the blink pad. 

“I don't take orders from you, remember?” Lena says with strained humor. Nevertheless, she begins a scan on the closest fighter, barely being able to fly and scout the scanner for a suitable blink point. 

“Oxton!” 

“Working-!” Lena shifts the engines in reverse without warning and the entire squad slams into the back of the cockpit seats. 

Just in time, Lena pulls the ship completely vertical and everyone looks out to see the looming tower of ice they narrowly missed. They follow it on and on into the sky, until they break through the cloud layer and see the tip reaching out into space. Across the horizon is an endless field of icy spires piercing through the clouds.

The ship is silent, none of them have ever seen anything like it before.

“You guys good back there?” Lena asks quietly.

“We're alive.” Says Murk with a groan.

“Sure, barely.” Sasha murmurs while shoving Murk off of her face.

“Got a lock for you, Aleks.” Lena says as they begin to stall, slowing down to a grinding halt before the ship slowly begins to spin 180 and rocket back down to the ground. “Can only send you though, these buggers are two person fighters, so be ready to blink into a seat behind the pilot.”

They pick up speed, hurtling down through the clouds and back into the whiteout. Aleks grunts in confirmation and steadies her nerves, eyes locked on the blizzard outside, waiting for the pull. 

“Target in range, blink synchronizing annnnd see you on the other side!”

The moment Lena's words reach her ears, Aleks squeezes her eyes shut, seeing the bright blue glow even through her eyelids. It pulls her forward by her throat, using her nerves like rubber puppet strings and slingshotting her into nothingness. 

Half digested varren meat slams into the back of her throat the moment her feet touch down on something solid. No matter how many times they've practiced blinking, it always leaves her head swimming. With a shake of her head, Aleks forces her eyes to focus on the cramped quarters the blink sent her into. 

Her eyes lock onto the pilot who's clawing at their eyes, blinded by the light. She wraps a thick arm around their throat, pinning them to the seat as she reaches over and slams down on the large button labeled ‘autopilot’. 

“Who do you work for.” Aleks says low into the pilots ear, while her eyes tear through the controls, their uniform; anything that could give her a hint. 

“M-mercy!” They stammer out. 

A gust of wind rocks the small ship around, nearly knocking Aleks out of her seat. Fearing that they're hurling straight into the face of another ice tower, Aleks decides that living it more important than answers at the moment.

“No mercy.” With a twist Aleks snaps the pilots neck. It’s ungraceful, but Aleks is able undo the harness strapping the pilot in and switch places with them. 

Real panic begins to swell in Aleks chest when she stares blankly at the buttons with strange icons on them, remembering that she doesn't know the first thing when it comes to flying a ship. Out of her element and out of options, she grabs onto what looks to be the steering wheel but hastily reframes from moving it, fearing that it'll break the autopilot. 

A breath, Aleks reminds herself she has a little more time than she thinks; it'll only feel shorter the more she panics. The autopilot should keep her out of harm's way for now. She begins to rifle through the compartments, stuffing data disks, documents, and whatever she can find into her pockets. A small bundle falls out of the overhead sun flap: a golden halo between two black wings wrapped in a note saying ‘welcome aboard’. She’s never seen the heraldry before, but it is a big universe out there.

Taking a good look at the dashboard, she finally finds the source of the alarm: an exclamation point over the radar showing two other green blips she assumes are their other attackers. Except one is blinking red and green and is spinning wildly out of control before disappearing from the display along with the alarm.

The other ship begins to fly closer to her. Do they know she's taken over the fighter? Are they trying to regroup with her? She had planned to kill the pilot and bide the five minutes it would take before she could be recalled but a new idea begins to formulate in her head. 

“Oxton, recall on my signal.” Aleks says and takes hold of the controls with determination. 

“You're too bloody far from us!” Lena says over her communicator but Aleks is only half listening.

“Then get over here,” she says with her eyes locked on the green dot getting closer and closer. 

Until she's mere meters away, close enough to make out a vague shadow in the whiteness.

“Moth 5 to Moth 6, I am activating my tractor, prepare to launch EMP on my mark.” Another voice sounds over the ship’s comm systems, robotic and flat...the voice of an omnic. Aleks swings her head back, doubting her memory but there lays the original pilot; a human but not dressed in the usual Null Sector colors of purple and black.

Aleks bites her tongue, mentally chastising herself for automatically assuming a hostile omnic meant Null Sector. There were plenty of other factions out there that wanted humans dead or enslaved, after all. It doesn’t matter now, they need this last plane dead. The fact that her enemy is an omnic makes the kill just a bit sweeter. 

“Poshyel k chyertu ( _ go to hell) _ ” Aleks says into the comm. She jerks the controls and aims the fighter straight at the other plane. 

“Luther!” the other ship begins to bank away from Aleks.

She begins to smash all the unlabeled buttons on the board, flipping all the switches she can find, not even bothering with reading the fine print and hoping that one of them launches a missile or this EMP they were talking about. Instead, the ship lurches forward, an indicator showing her engines burning at max. Something Aleks didn’t mean to do, but isn’t entirely upset about. 

“Oxton!” Aleks yells, quickly glancing at the radar that’s suddenly showing the red blip nowhere to be found. She goes back and unflips the last few switch but the engines continue picking up speed. 

“Moth 6! Luther what ar-” Aleks punches the blinking communicator and silences the distraction. 

She swallows thickly and wonders if she is ready to die.

A deep breath does little to calm her nerves. Proximity alarms begin to blare, steadily growing louder and louder, the other plane coming closer and closer. Her hand paws at the edge of her seat, searching for lever that she had only seen in vids. It’s a small little thing that fits neatly in her palm, her lifeline, her only chance.  She doesn't know how high up they are from the ground or what her odds are to survive the fall without a parachute. 

Her death would be for nothing. She would buy Lena time but with her dead, they would just return to the Cherry Orchard, life would go on as outlaws, perhaps they would even disband. They’d be safer with her head no longer contributing to the bounty pool that is their crew. But then again, what is she living for anyways? All of them, pirates of the stars. 

“Lena?!” Aleks screams and glances at the radar one last time. Her heart sinks, it's still empty. The other plane fills her field of vision, a second before impact.

She pulls the lever and the cold embraces her. 

* * *

Her face is warm despite the last thing Aleks remembers is the frozen winds cutting into her. She rolls onto her side, bile and vomit fights it's way past her throat and onto the floor before she can force it back. The warm, wet towel slips off her forehead and into the mess on the floor.

“Oxton, she's awake!” The voice sounds distant but ultimately familiar. Marth, Merk, Murk? Shadows suddenly loom all around her and instincts have Aleks bracing herself for a fight.

“Give her space. Back the hell up, mates!” 

Aleks’ eyes crack open to see a small, figure push through the darkness, hands outstretched with a fresh steaming towel in hand. Lena? The pieces start breaking the surface of her murky mind. 

“What. Who...where?” Aleks mutters out what few words that make it through her battered brain. She gratefully accepts the towel and places it onto her forehead, the warmth easing away the nausea and pounding of her head. A hand gentle brushes again her shoulder and she winces away, realizing that they had stripped her down to her thermals.

“Easy, love, you're safe now. Sasha's at the helm, reckon you can hear her grumbling from here yeah.” Lena says with a soft chuckle and smile, helping Aleks swing her feet over the edge of the fold out bed. Her hands start to poke and prod, taking her pulse and touching her far too much to Aleks’ liking.

Her eyes finally begin to adjust. The rest of the squad is crammed around her, sitting on the floor and the other bed. Kalin and Jenny poking their concerned faces through the opening connecting the cargo with the rest of the ship. The worried looks begins to pick at her nerves.

“What happened?” Aleks asks and shoots them all a glare so they would stop staring at her.

“I took care of one of the blighters myself before you decided to turn yourself into a bloody missile.” Lena says. She gently pats Aleks’ face to get the soldier to look at her, using the element of surprise to shine a light into her eyes. 

Aleks tears her face out of Lena's grip and slaps the hands away, earning herself a huff and an uncharacteristically stern look from Lena. They glare at each other for a moment. despite Aleks knowing it's for her own good, she doesn't feel like letting Lena see how much discomfort she's in. 

“I'm fine.” Aleks says with a growl.

“Like hell you are.” Lena counters, trying to grab hold of Aleks’ face only to have her wrist captured by a tight fist. 

“I will see doctor at port if you are so worried.”

“My ship, my rules, and I say you look like shite.”

Aleks’ lips raise up in a snarl, even though it's true, she begins to square up. Everyone in the ship looks back and forth between the feuding pair, not entirely sure how to handle the tension. They've seen the pair quarrel before, usually lighthearted, but this time it bears a different edge.

“You two should just fuck.” 

Every pair of eyes shoots to Panica who offers a meager shrug before returning to her vid-game. Her interjection was enough to diffuse some of the anger by directing it all to herself. Lena grunts in frustration and grabs a warm packet of water and chucks it at Aleks head. She tries to catch it but with her body still incredible sore, the plastic smacks squarely onto her face and it feels as though it's burning her skin off. Aleks bites back a scream, only grunting in pains while tearing the pouch off her face. 

“Other guy got a lock on us with a tractor so I had to burn a lotta fuel to go stealth.” Lena continues to explain on her way back to the cockpit, her words still harboring an edge of annoyance. 

Aleks begrudgingly twist the cap off packet, draining it in three huge gulps. Feeling begins to trickle back into her fingers and toes, everything fading away to a dull ache. Signs of mild frostbite and hypothermia that Aleks is all too familiar with. 

“We watched your plane spearhead the other one. Thought you dead but the accelerator was still linked to you. You fell for quite a bit before we got close enough for a lock to recall you back in.” Lena says. 

Her battle armor must've helped but even she knows she wouldn't have survived the cold for much longer. Her pride gets in the way of her humility and the moment to say 'thank you’ comes and goes.

“We all knew you weren't dead, Zarya.” Murk says with a grin. 

“ _ Bez truda ne vytashchish' i rybku iz prud (Without effort, you can not even get a fish out of the pond.)”  _ Aleks recites the quote her sargent always said back on Kazan. 

_ “ _ Yeah, or an Zaryanova out of the sky.” Jenny says and they all share a chuckle that softens the hard edges of the reality they're in. 

_ “ _ So now what? We're still gonna meet with these punks and rough them up a bit. You better say yes, Zarya.” says Panica with her hand itchy and restless. 

“Steady yourself, Panica. Oxton, how far are we from the meet point?” Aleks says. 

“20 minutes, those fighters had us back tracking quite a bit.” 

Aleks raises an eyebrow, remembering back to what the pilot said. She takes the opportunity to get off the bed before Lena can stop her; stumbling on her first few steps and using Murk’s shoulder to steady herself. 

“I was able to do reconnaissance,” Aleks says and managing a few feet before a wave of dizziness hits her like a hammer. The world tilts backwards and Aleks lands into the arms of Murk and Panica and a faint scoff sounds from the cockpit. She tries to shake them off but they hold final and Aleks finally allows them to bring her back to the bed. With a weak hand, Aleks gestures and says, “my pants pockets.”

Murk hurries over to the pile of clothes and armor and begins emptying out the contents onto the other bed.

“Other pilot ordered for an EMP while he tractored you in.” Aleks says only vaguely remembering the ordeal.

“Sounds like they wanted us alive then.” Kalin muses from the cargo hold.

“Oxton, why do I feel like shit.” Aleks groans, the pounding in her head coming back full force and she tries in vain to slap the now cool towel on to her head to smother it. 

“Well, guess it could be that were we're falling for almost a full minute in subzero temperatures, or maybe being caught in the shockwave of two planes smashing together. Oh, I know, it's probably cause you were an idiot and I had to bust everything just to recall you before you either hit the ground or froze to death.” Lena rants as she gets up from the pilot seat. She storms over and grabs another towel from a small bin, wets it, and microwaves it before bringing over to Aleks. Lena’s lips press together and she says a lot more quietly, “shouldn’t have agreed to blink you in.” 

 

Aleks is slightly surprised to see Lena’s eyes shining with tears when she kneels down in front of Aleks. The cold towel is roughly taken away and a warm one is slapped onto her face. She hisses at the burning and almost rips it off when it quickly fades to pleasant, pulsing warmth changes her mind. 

“You have problem with me, Oxton.” Aleks says, peeling the towel off and balling it up to dap her forehead. 

“Bet cha knickers I do.” Lena says, standing at the side of the bed and refusing to look Aleks in the eyes, instead looking out into the falling snow. 

Aleks looks at her expectantly but Lena doesn't elaborate. 

“Is it because I did not thank you? Do you want medal-”

“No, I-just shut it!” Lena nearly shouts, quickly bringing a hand up to wipe away the hot angry tears threatening to fall. “I’ll tell you later.”

“We talk about this now.” Aleks jumps to her feet, forces herself to remain steady, and grabs Lena's shoulder when she tries to turns to walk away. She holds Lena, forcing her to face her as Aleks crouches down to her eye level. “Talk.”

“Later, you utter twat.” Lena says and slaps the hands off her shoulders, or at least tries to but Aleks is so much stronger than Lena. She shoots a tear filled glare at Aleks. 

“We’re 5 minutes out.” Sasha calls out from the cockpit.

“Later, then.” Aleks says and releases Lena who promptly flips her off before hopping back to the cockpit.

“We’re here, we might as well crack some skulls, that's all I'm saying.” Panica says with a cheerful grin.

“They’re going to send more of those planes at us. I say we land this tin can and go in on foot. We can even close our eyes and pretend it's home.” Kalin says from the cargo hold, his oxygen mask resting on her forehead. 

“Enough,” Aleks says with a huff. “Status report on the Dragonfly”

“Port engine overheated a touch getting out of tractor but the cold took care of that for us. Other than that, ship's running smooth.” Lena announces after running a quick diagnostic. She turns with lips pressed thin and says, “we’ll be running on empty once we get there so we better find some fuel or we're gonna have to call in an escort, if we're still alive.”

“We press on.” Aleks says.

“Not like we have a choice.” Lena grumbles, making Aleks question her own judgement of partnering up with the mouthy pilot.

They find themselves staring at each other again, the tension in the cabin quickly rising.

“You haven't punched her yet, the kid is starting to grow on you isn't she, Zarya.” Panica jokes. 

“Like tick on dog.” Aleks says with a grunt. 

“Aww, reminds me of when we first met.” Panica says with a teasing nudge to which Aleks just grunts.

For once, Lena doesn't shoot back with another insult.

“Oxton will drop us off just outside point and we walk the rest of the way with transmitter. Be on standby, if things go wrong, blink us out and firebomb them.” Aleks says as she heads to the back and begins to strap the armor back onto herself. 

“Dragonfly's a fighter with guns and a few missiles, it don't got bombs.” Lena says. 

“I am leaving you Kalin, so now you do.” Aleks pats Kalin’s shoulder who scrunches their face up in offense. 

“You're taking my idea  _ and _ leaving me to die in this tin can.” The grenadier huffs and crosses their arms with a pout. “That's real cold, even for you Zarya.” 

“And you always complain about being too close to the fight.” Aleks says and coaxing out another round of chuckles from the squad. “Murk, find anything useful?” 

Murk’s head snaps up at the mention of his name. In front of him are neat little piles that he sorted the items into. 

“Data Disks are locked and encrypted. Give me enough time and I'll crack them for you. But this little beauty,” he leans over and picks up a piece of paper. “It's hopefully the encryption code that I can use to help us speed up the process.”

“So nothing useful.” Aleks says. 

“For the moment. But get this, you see this purple skull, it's a variant but unmistakably from the Sombra Initiative.” Murk says excitedly.

“So nothing useful.” Aleks says again, her interruption doing little to slow down his ravings. 

“Only the most wanted criminal gang in the entire universe. Did you know they're rumored to have started the entire Omnic rebellion by sending out a virus and forming Null Sector?” 

“I don't care.” 

“Well it looks like they want us dead, or at least captured.”

“Then they wait in line like the others.” 

“If I can decrypt these, maybe it'll keep us a step ahead of them, maybe we can even take them down-”

“Keep it in your pants, Murk. Lady’s not interested.” Panica says, shoving his shoulder. He rolls his eyes and gathers everything back up.

“Alright, everybody eat power bar, drink water, and prepare yourself for battle. We do not know if the fighters are connected with the people we are meeting with so everyone, on your guard. Clear?” aleks says, finally geared back up and particle cannon at her feet.

“Oorah.”

The chant sparks a sense of nostalgia in Aleks’ chest. She looks out to her little band of troops, sees them busying themselves with rations and chatting. Old days that she remembers fondly but knows they are better now. Her eyes lingering on Lena and Sasha bantering away at the cockpit, seeing a rare laugh bubble up from Sasha's mouth.

“Oorah.” Aleks whispers to herself without anyone hearing her.

______

Even though they were burning up in the Dragonfly in their body armor; the addition of winter coats is barely enough to keep out the chilling winds. The walk is quiet save for a round of taunts when Sasha’s foot catches on a hidden rock and faceplants into the snow. 

Aleks had forgotten how difficult it was to travel in thigh-deep snow; more like swimming than walking. Someone behind her jokes about what Oxton would look like in her orange jumpsuit with snow up to her waist. 

“We are close, cut the chatter.” Aleks says over the comms and they all fall silent. 

According to the her locator they were about 200 meters from the point, not that they could tell in the never ending blizzard. With Aleks at the head of the their line, she locks her body up mid step and holds her arm up. 

“Halt.” Alek says sharply. Her leg remains outstretched in front of her, not in pain, but...warmth? 

She leans her head forward, seeing her leg hidden by the biting snow she should be able to see her foot this close up but it's just a sheet of white.  An illusion?

“Murk, scanner.” Aleks says pointing to her still outstretched leg. He hurries over and with his arm out, an orange light beaming out from his fist. 

“Nothing hostile, a superpowered barrier most likely. My guess is a biodome.” Murk says, straightening back up and pointing the scanner upwards and then sweeping to either side. “Can't tell you how big it is but it does go quite a ways out.”

He switches the implant off and extends a hand. Instead of passing through, his hand stops, thunking softly against an unseen surface. Murk tries his other hand, and then his body, virtually laying down on the invisible barrier. He looks over at Aleks who has retracted her foot back. 

“Looks like it's only letting you in, Zarya.” Murk says and the others gather around them, each testing out the barrier and being unable to pass through. 

“Wonderful.” Aleks says with a grumble, not particularly scared to going in alone but weary nonetheless. “Oxton. There is a barrier that only I can pass through. Can your scanner penetrate it?”

“Yeah, just a little. It's fuzzy but I can see a small camp. Sending the scan your way.” Lena says a moment before Aleks’ implant vibrates and she opens up a holograph. 

Silhouettes of five small buildings are arranged into a semicircle with a bright light in the center indicating the source of the barrier. Usually the scanner would be able to pick up details like corridors and people but with such a barrier and snow interference; Aleks can't make out anything more than vague shadows. 

“If your ass really needs saving, you could shoot the generator right there and we’ll be out here...twiddling our thumbs til the freeze off.” Panica says pointing at the holograph. 

“I also have EMP grenades here that'd disable that puppy in a flash. Wish you brought me along too, don't you?” Kalin says with a pout loud enough to hear from the ship.

The unease lifts slightly off Aleks’ chest knowing she has options with the increasingly complicated meet up. She swears that it all better be worth the effort.

“Transmitter work through the barrier?” Aleks says, switching the small device on and feeling it hum in her hand.

“Reckon it should. The thing works through shields, so barriers shouldn't be much different. It don't have much of a battery life, though. Power it up when you wanna be recalled, yeah.” Lena says with a faint creaking in the background of her comms. “But Aleks, you keep blinking so much, it’s gonna start messing with you-”

“Understood.” Aleks says, not interested in Lena’s words of warning. She switches the transmitter off and stuffs it into her pocket. “Squad, hold your position. If I do not return in an hour, Kalin disable the barrier and clean up my mess. Orders clear?”

Murmurs of confirmations ripple across the comms. A hand claps down onto Aleks shoulder and she looks over to see Panica’s steel helmet looking up at her. 

“Teach em not to mess with the Cyberians.” The other around them nod in agreement. 

“Best scenario we get a job, we finish it, then we buy ship with hot tubs.” Aleks says with a smile. 

“You know, I would be not mad about that, like, at all.” Murk adds. 

“Aleks, don't forget to see if there's fuel for me or else we're getting someone else to lift our arses outta here.” Lena adds.

“Acknowledged,” Aleks says and Panica’s hand falls away. “See you on the the other side.”

Aleks steps through the barrier, into a warmth that instantly pieces through her frozen clothes, and the ground disappears from beneath her feet. 


End file.
